The Climate of Egypt

The weather in Egypt is usually hot, dry, and sunny all year long especially during the summer as the temperature could reach 40 C (104 F) but in the winter months from September to April the climate is quite wonderful with low temperatures. The winter months are known to be the best time for tourists to visit Egypt as the climate becomes quite tolerable which create the best atmosphere for checking the various artifacts and monuments of the magical land in Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, Aswan, and across the red sea in Hurghada and Sharm El sheik.

Prevailing wind

The prevailing northwesterly wind from the Mediterranean Sea continuously blows over the northern coast without the interposition of an eventual mountain range and thus, greatly moderates temperatures throughout the year. Because of the effect, average low temperatures vary from 9.5 °C (49.1 °F) in wintertime to 23 °C (73.4 °F) in summertime and average high temperatures vary from 17 °C (62.6 °F) in wintertime to 32 °C (89.6 °F) in summertime. Though temperatures are moderated along the coasts, the situation changes in the interior, which is away from the moderating northerly winds. Thus, in the central and the southern parts, nighttime temperatures are very hot, especially in summers when average high temperatures can exceed 40 °C (104 °F), as in Aswan, Luxor, Asyut or Sohag which are located in the deserts of Egypt.

Rainfall

Egypt receives between 20 mm (0.79 in) and 200 mm (7.87 in) of annual average precipitation along the narrow Mediterranean coast, but south from Cairo, the average drops to nearly 0 millimetres (0.00 inches) in the central and the southern part of the country. The cloudiest, rainiest places are in and around Alexandria and Rafah. The sunshine duration is high all over Egypt, ranging from a low of 3,300 hours along the northernmost part in places such as Alexandria to reach a high of over 4,000 hours farther in the interior, in most of the country.

Mountainous areas

Some mountainous locations in Sinai, such as Saint Catherine, have cooler night temperatures, due to their high elevations. It usually snows on the Sinai mountains, but it almost never snows in the cities of Giza, Cairo, and Alexandria. For example, in December 2013, Cairo received a single overnight snowfall for the first time since 1901.